


The Viper's Nest

by NestingHedwig_aka_LinW



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dubious Consent, M/M, Mpreg, Out of Character, Past Character Death, Snarry-A-Thon17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-01 20:57:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10929912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NestingHedwig_aka_LinW/pseuds/NestingHedwig_aka_LinW
Summary: Gravely injured while gathering potion ingredients in an isolated location, Severus becomes entangled in motives driving the unlikely family that finds him.





	The Viper's Nest

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Snarry-a-Thon 2017. All characters depicted herein in adult situations may safely be assumed to be over eighteen. 
> 
> The story is based on characters created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including, but not limited to Scholastic Books and Warner Bros. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended; no monetary gain will be made from this story.

_"Diffindo."_

Severus Snape flicked his wand, severing a large Venomous Tentacula vine that threatened to curl around his left ankle. He stepped back as the eyeless, spiky plant attempted to defend itself, highly poisonous venom dripping from its fangs. The smaller surrounding plants trembled uneasily.

Severus sidestepped a barrage of spiny seed pods, spat from the mouth of the giant mother plant. The Class C non-tradable Venomous Tentacula seeds were only slightly less dangerous than the fangs and vines. Smirking at the agitated mother plant, the potions master levitated the rattling tentacula seed pods from the ground into a waiting leather bag. Only an inexperienced fool would attempt to pluck the valuable pods from the mouth of the highly poisonous plant.

Stepping out of range of the pods and vines, Severus decided to wait until the plants calmed down before attempting to harvest leaves from them. Selling for eight to ten galleons apiece at any reputable apothecary, the delicate and expensive leaves would be the last ingredient he intended to harvest from the nest.

The black-haired wizard secured the bag of seed pods beside a covered basket containing several immature Venomous Tentacula plants he intended to attempt to transplant for his own use. If successful, he could then control the quality of his ingredients, rather than be at the mercy of the exorbitant prices charged by the commercial growers for less than stellar plants.

An unidentifiable sound caught his attention. He looked around the long-abandoned Muggle graveyard the wild Venomous Tentacula plants called home, but could not identify the source of the noise. The ancient headstones lay buried beneath years of untended wild flowers and weeds and could easily conceal just about anything. Beyond a crumbling stone wall was the derelict remains of the caretaker's cobblestone cottage, the rotted thatched roof long since collapsed into the middle of it.

Severus noted that daylight was beginning to fade. He would need to harvest the Venomous Tentacula leaves soon, because attempting to harvest in darkness could prove suicidal. The potions master pulled a potions case containing sheets of oiled parchment from a pocket within his robes. He intended to place the harvested leaves between the individual sheets for protection of their delicate edges.

In the dense forest surrounding the graveyard, Severus noticed a flickering light in the distance. The light seemed to be made of smoke. Was there a marsh beyond the forest, he wondered. He looked at the flickering light again and determined he was possibly seeing a hinkypunk. He gave a short laugh. As if he was foolish enough to follow a will o' the wisp into a bog.

_"Diffindo."_

Severus severed a large tentacula leaf from the mother plant and levitated it away from her. With his hands protected by leather gloves, he smoothed the leaf and laid it atop a sheet of parchment. He covered the poisonous leaf with another sheet of parchment. Carefully, he harvested nine additional leaves, in varying sizes, from both the mother plant and her offspring. He sealed the potions case and placed it, and his work gloves, back into his pocket for ease of transport.

Behind him, Severus heard the rustle of something large moving through the overgrown vegetation. Wand in hand, he spun toward the graveyard. The tall weeds rippled, but he could not see what was rapidly moving toward him. 

In his quest to take a defensive position, he took a step backward. Multiple Venomous Tentacula vines shot out, wrapping around the tall man's legs and torso.

 _"Diffindo! Incendio! Diffindo!"_ Severus cried out, setting some of the vines on fire while severing others. A particularly thick vine wrapped around his knees and knocked him off of his feet. His body was violently dragged into the heart of the Venomous Tentacula nest and his wand flew out of his grip. The mother plant spat out her poisonous seed pods, their spikes embedding into the dark wizard's face. Multiple plants bit into Severus' flesh, injecting their venom.

Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Severus escaped from the frenzied nest, only to collapse a short distance away. The deadly toxins were attacking his bloodstream and paralysis would soon overtake his motor functions.

Venom burned at his eyes. Severus vainly tried to uncap a vial of the antidote he had secreted in his pockets. He gasped for air as his lungs seized. His mind spun as he tried to fight the growing panic. This was not how he ever imagined he would die.

And then he knew no more.

~*~*~*  
"He's finally stable. We'll need to have Tink transport him to a Healer."

"No."

"I know what you're planning, but I don't think it's a good idea."

"Mother does."

"Neither of you realize how dangerous Severus Snape can be."

"Inner Circle...by the elbow of the dark one."

"And an all-around son of a bitch. He'll flay you."

~*~*~*  
Severus slowly drifted to consciousness. He took stock of his body. His eyes would not open and he was unable to move any of his limbs. However, he was able to breathe through his nose as his lungs expanded and contracted on their own. That was a very good sign, he noted.

The wizard could hear something or somebody moving around him. He tried to make a sound, but could not. Obviously the Venomous Tentacula toxins were still coursing through his system, the poison keeping his body paralyzed.

Beside his left ear, Severus heard the hissing of a snake, followed by a harsher hiss coming from where his feet should be. Unless he was hallucinating, the hissing followed the pattern of a conversation. A third, tentative hiss came from his right. It sounded almost like a baby. 

"Holy Mother of Magic!" Severus cried out in his mind. He was surrounded by snakes! It wasn't bad enough that he had been poisoned by tentacula, he had apparently fallen into a nest of vipers as well. With the way his luck was going, he sincerely hoped they were not black adders.

The snake to his left hissed again.

"Would you just stop doing that, Ry?" A cultured, oddly familiar, male voice suddenly whined. "You know how much I hate that shite."

And the snake on his left began to laugh, a delighted human laugh.

It was just too much, he thought. Severus sank into unconsciousness once again.

~*~*~*  
Severus' nose twitched as he inhaled the rank odor of his own sweat. He still could not open his eyes or move his limbs, but he was now able to sense ice cold air on his skin. He could hear the low crackle of a fire and smell something fragrant simmering over a flame. He didn't know where he was, but he knew he was no longer lying in the graveyard. He seemed to have been tucked into a bed, but he was also fairly certain he was not in a hospital given the lack of the astringent odors associated with such a facility.

The dark wizard made an incoherent sound, but his throat still would not let him form words. An ice cold hand brushed his cheek.

"He's waking up."

The edge of the bed dipped and Severus' head and shoulders were gently lifted from the pillow. He rested weakly against a firm body as a cool liquid was held to his lips. 

"Let us sssee if you can swallow thisss water on your own," an unfamiliar male voice spoke kindly, his voice catching slightly on some of the esses. The liquid eased the soreness of Severus' parched throat.

Severus tried to speak, but nothing came out. Warm fingers caressed his throat.

"None of that," the voice continued. "Do not ssstrain yourself. It'sss much too early for you to be awake."

"Don't fight us, Professor Snape. Go to sleep," said the second voice, as Severus was lowered back on the bed. He recognized that voice. It sounded exactly like the voice of his former student, Draco Malfoy, but that was impossible. Lord Voldemort had tortured Draco to death in a room filled with Death Eaters more than a year before.

Not just water, Severus thought lethargically as Morpheus claimed him once again.

~*~*~*  
"...the bites on your forearmsss are healing quite nicely, but your hands are ssstill a messs. We can probably leave your armsss uncovered to ssscab over, but your fingers are still fessstering."

Severus listened to the male voice with the ess affliction chatter on. He still could not move any of his limbs or open his eyes, but he could feel the odd sensation of a warm cloth washing his unresponsive arms. How very strange, he thought.

"Oh, your urine isss no longer cloudy. That'sss a very good sssign, as you well know," the man continued to speak as he kept washing Severus. "If you don't have a bowel movement sssoon, I'll have to give you a potion to help thingsss along. We need to get those nasssty toxins out of your body before they caussse additional damage...Now, let me help your little ssswimmersss along...You undoubtedly don't want damage there."

Severus listened as the man continued to speak, unaware he had a audience. Was he a healer? Or a potions master? Whichever he was, he knew that the poison from the Venomous Tentacula had to be expelled naturally through bodily secretions - blood, sweat, tears, mucus, urine, feces, and semen. Semen...Wait a minute! Wait just a bloody minute! Helping his little swimmers? 

Severus' analytical mind tried to work through his potion-induced fog. Yes, he finally decided, he did need to ejaculate the venom-tainted semen from his body to prevent future sterility. It was odd, he thought, he should be much more alarmed than he actually was that a total stranger intended to help him masturbate. Perhaps it was the matter-of-fact tone to the man's voice that kept him at ease.

Severus tried to fight the sleep that was overtaking him. It had been so long since anyone had willingly touched him sexually. It was a shame he wouldn't be awake to enjoy the experience, he thought in amusement. 

~*~*~*  
"...and the purple polka-dotted puppy picked a paw full of pink petuniasss to give to hisss friend, the calico-colored cat...Look at the kitty, Oberon. Sssee the pretty kitty."

"K-kk," the baby giggled. 

"Very good, Oberon. K-kitty. Can you sssay kitty?"

"Whhhh," Severus croaked. Why was someone asking him about purple kittens? 

"You're finally awake," the man chirped from across the room. "Let me put Oberon in his cot firssst, then I can attend to you."

After a few minutes, the mattress shifted as the man sat beside him. A glass was placed against his lips.

"Nuuh..." Severus bit down on his lips. He tried to turn his head, but didn't think he was successful. He didn't want to drink another potion if it meant going to sleep again.

"Please take a drink. Thisss time it is jussst water." The glass was placed once again to his lips and this time Severus took a sip. The cold water felt wonderful against the dry tissues in his mouth. "And maybe a drop or two of Pepper-Up."

"W-w?" Severus struggled to enunciate his words. He took a second sip of the potion-laced water. "Who?"

"Who am I? I would imagine you want to know where you are and what is happening as well." 

"Yes." That sounded a little better, the dark wizard thought.

"My given name isss Harfang, but I prefer to be called Harry. You were attacked by the Venomousss Tentacula you were harvesssting. Mother found you in the graveyard and brought you to me." Harry gently adjusted Severus' body, placing several pillows behind his back to raise his head.

"It isss very lucky that you had ssseveral doses of anti-venom in your possssession, because it gave usss time to sssave you. I do apologise. We have rather decimated your tentacula harvessst. Tink needed to trade a few of your pods and leaves for dittany, murtlap and gauze. And we needed to grind the ssseeds to brew more anti-venom."

"Where...here? Mungos?" 

"No. Not Sssaint Mungos. You are sssafe in my cottage. I sssaw the Dark Mark on your arm and didn't dare take you to hossspital. It's still a one way trip to Azkaban for anyone caught with the mark," Harry replied.

So Harry knew that he was a Death Eater, but he had not reported him to the Ministry of Magic. What did that mean? Was Harry a Dark wizard, a supporter of the Dark Lord, or was he simply a Healer keeping his vow of patient confidentiality? Trapped as he was in a body that did not work, Severus would have to be very careful. For all he knew, he was already in a Ministry holding cell.

"Eyes won't open...blind?" Severus was almost afraid to hear the answer to that question. Of what earthly use was a blind potions master?

"Your hands and fasssse took the brunt of the attack. Your robes protected much of your body from the venom." Harry paused. "I would like to tell you that you will sssee again, but it is too early to know. Ssspines from the Venomousss Tentacula ssseeds broke off in your cheeksss and eyelids."

"Festering?"

"Not now. Each time I change the bandages, the ssswelling diminishes. But, I am ssstill plucking out the ssspine tips embedded in your eyelids."

"Paralysis not left. Can feel sensations."

"The paralysis caused by the initial attack made your body sssieze as it disssipated. Had to ussse a body bind on your limbs." Harry placed the glass against his lips and Severus took another sip. 

"Hands?"

"Ssstill weeping. Alssso, the vine dissslocated your left knee cap. It has been re-ssset and is healing in Muggle fashion. Can't give you _Ssskele-Gro_ while you are purging toxins."

"Expel..."

"No. _Deadly Plantsss and Antidotesss_ cautions against sssummoning the..."

"Da!" The baby shrieked suddenly, interrupting Harry mid sentence. Oberon was banging something on the slats of his cot. He was not going to be ignored. "Da! Da! Da!"

"Give me a minute, Ssseverusss." The mattress shifted.

Severus could feel a cold breeze blow past the bed, as if a window had suddenly opened. Goosebumps rose on his bare arms.

"You stay with the professor, Ry." Draco's voice spoke over the ruckus. He addressed the noisy baby with unexpected tenderness. "What is going on with you, Little Monster? Is everyone ignoring you?"

Severus hadn't heard anyone walk into the room so Draco must have already been there. The potions master briefly wondered why his former student hadn't spoken directly to him. 

"Da! Da! Da!"

~*~*~*  
It was quiet the next time Severus awoke. He still had little to no control of his body and he wondered when Harry would remove the binding. Surely enough time had passed that the level of toxins in his system would no longer cause seizures.

Severus gradually became aware of soft, gentle breathing beside his head and felt a warm body curled up against his left side. Why was there a stranger sharing his bed?

He breathed in an earthy scent that did not belong to the warm body and realized a cool, firm form pressed against his right side. He did not hear any breathing from that body.

What was going on?

"Who..." Severus began to speak, wanting the bodies to identify themselves. The right side form jerked and hissed at him in irritation. If Severus had control of his body, he would have bolted.

How had he ended up back in the viper's nest?

~*~*~*  
In the background, the potions master could hear Harry feeding Oberon his breakfast, and, for the first time, heard the squeaky voice of a house-elf. He could hear Draco conversing with both Harry and the baby.

Other than Harry's tendency to elongate the sound of his esses, none of them sounded remotely like a snake. Had last night just been his imagination or a nightmare?

Tink, the house-elf, introduced himself to Severus before he began to carefully feed him eggs, sausage and toast. Thankfully, Tink was a calm elf. After the past few days, Severus didn't think he was capable of dealing with a high-strung one.

"Draco?" Severus called out after Tink removed the breakfast dishes. He needed to determine if the young man was actually Draco Malfoy, or just sounded similar to the former Slytherin.

"Yes, Professor?" Draco's voice sounded much closer than he had expected. Severus decided the young wizard must not be wearing shoes because he moved without making a sound. "Good morning. How are you feeling today?"

"I feel much better, much stronger." Severus paused. There was really no way around being blunt. "How are you here? I saw you die."

"What do you remember of that day?" Harry asked, softly. The mattress shifted as he sat down. Since there were no baby sounds, Tink must be taking care of Oberon.

"Why haven't you let your mother know that you survived? She's absolutely shattered."

"Tell us what you remember," Draco ordered, not answering the question. His voice sounded hollow.

Severus was quiet as he tried to remember events that had transpired more than a year before. 

_The Dark Lord had summoned all of his Inner Circle and many, but not all, of his marked followers. It was readily apparent that the dark wizard was in an agitated state of mind and that never boded well for his followers. Severus mentally prepared himself to be subjected to a round or two of the Cruciatus Curse, Lord Voldemort's usual stress-reliever._

_What was extremely unusual that evening was that Voldemort was in the midst of what appeared to be a heated argument with his familiar, Nagini. Nagini's minder was attempting to keep the serpent from being cursed._

_No one knew the identity of the serpent's attendant. A wizard dressed in a hooded robe suddenly appeared one day as Nagini's constant companion. The Dark Lord never publically acknowledged the minder's presence and no one had ever seen his face or heard him speak. As Nagini herself always made even the most ardent follower nervous, most were just relieved to have her attentions on someone else._

_Just as Lucius Malfoy and his son, Draco, Apparated into the meeting room, Voldemort lost all control of his anger toward his familiar. With a violent Parseltongue hiss, Nagini's minder was flung across the floor, his trajectory stopped only when his body slammed into the wall. Turning her back to her master, Nagini swiftly undulated toward her injured companion, hissing angrily the entire way._

_Everyone froze as the Dark Lord's crimson eyes examined his silent followers. Severus reflexively strengthened his Occulmency shields, and remained at high alert even when the cruel eyes passed him by. His heart sank when Draco was singled out by the megalomaniac._

_What followed was confusing. Voldemort accused Draco of taking something that did not belong to him, of stealing what was his, and then he began to curse the younger wizard. It was all Severus and Rastaban Lestrange could do to restrain Lucius._

"I can still hear your screams...and then the sudden silence." Severus was subdued.

"And then what do you remember?" Draco probed further.

"Nagini's minder barreled into the Dark Lord's back, breaking the curse. I remember thinking the action was suicidal. He ran to you and cradled you in his arms, but you were unresponsive. Nagini wrapped her coils around both you and her minder. Something was hissed that seemed to stun the Dark Lord and you three Disapparated out of the room."

"What happened after we left?"

"The Dark Lord abruptly dismissed all but his Inner Circle. We never found your body...your father assumed...Nagini devoured your corpse." Severus shuddered. "The Dark Lord went into a rage that lasted days. Nagini and her minder have never attended another meeting. Lord Vol..."

Harry barked, cutting Severus off. "I don't need the dark one or his minionsss landing in my parlor."

Severus paused. How could he have been so dim-witted as to have forgotten the taboo placed upon the Dark Lord's name? His very existence relied on him weighing every word, so it had to be the potion regimen. He tilted his head, pleased by the increased range of motion.

"Draco, what did you do to set him off that day? What did he think you had stolen from him?"

"That would be me," Harry said, his tone full of remorse. 

"Father kept me very isssolated. Draco is the only wizard my own age that I have ever even ssspoken with. I was home schooled. With Karkaroff at Durmstrang and Dumbledore at Hogwartsss, Father would not let me attend either of those schools. Beauxbatons isss much too Light and the other accredited ssschools in Asia, Africa and the Americas were too far away."

"When the Dark Lord took up residence at my family's manor, Ry came with him. We met, quite by accident late one night, and continued to meet in secret."

"And being two hormonal young wizards, we began to experiment...And that'sss when we committed two grave errors."

"First, we didn't know Ry was a Bearer."

"Oberon is heir to the House of Malfoy?" Severus asked, the evenness of his tone belying the surprise he felt. Naturally occurring male pregnancy, while not unheard of, was exceedingly rare. "And he is also heir to House of...?"

"Gaunt, and possibly whichever house my birth parents were from...unless father hasss disssowned me."

"I thought the Gaunt line died out earlier this century."

"No. Father's mother was one of the last Gauntsss. When he desssignated me as his heir, Father named me Harfang Jameson Gaunt, resssurrecting the family name."

"You are the Dark Lord's son?"

"Adopted ssson. He took me from my birth mother's dead arms."

Pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit together in Severus' mind. He just needed a little more information.

"You mentioned you made two errors. Your pregnancy was the first. What was the second?"

"Father has a very archaic view on human sssexuality. He believes that intercourse affectsss a wizard's magic and weakens a wizard's magical core. If he is not still a virgin, he is at least celibate...and he expected me to follow his teachings...Mother, of course, doesss not agree."

Mother? Who the hell was Mother? Severus wondered. There was no female companion in the Dark Lord's life, with the exception of Bellatrix Lestrange, and she was batshit crazy. No one would be insane enough to let her near a small child.

"I can't imagine the Dark Lord was pleased."

"Fucking understatement," Draco replied bluntly. "He sent several stunners at Ry, throwing him into a wall, just before he turned his attentions on to me."

Severus thought back to that horrible day, and another piece snapped into place.

"You are Nagini's minder."

"Yesss.

"And you are a Parselmouth."

"Yesss."

"And is Oberon also a Parselmouth?"

"Yesss."

"Is Draco?"

"No."

So, Severus thought, two of the three of them were snake speakers. He was in the middle of a viper's nest after all.

~*~*~*  
Severus pretended to be asleep when Harry curled up against him later that evening. As he listened to the younger man's breath even out, he wondered why Harry would choose to sleep beside a total stranger rather than share his bed with Draco. Moments later the heavy weight of another body joined them, and he knew it was not the blond wizard. 

~*~*~*  
Severus was irritated and he was bored and the combination of the two was never a good thing. His damaged eyes were still bandaged and Harry refused to remove the binding of his limbs and would not say why. His vitriol-laced complaints only seemed to amuse the younger man.

With the senses still available to him, Severus examined his surroundings. The fresh air blowing through an open window was clean with an undercurrent of a floral scent. He could hear only birds and insects in the background, so he was probably in the country.

Harry's home did not appear to be very large, as most of the family's activities seemed to occur in the same room. Usually he only heard Harry and Oberon's voices. Draco's voice appeared infrequently and Tink was so rarely present that Severus wondered if Tink was actually a Malfoy house-elf appearing without the knowledge of Lucius and Narcissa.

At the moment, Oberon was being excessively whiny. Harry did not appear to be able to calm the infant for more than a few moments at a time. The shrill sound was driving the dark wizard insane.

And then Severus heard a hiss and Oberon began to giggle, and then finally the baby was quiet. The baby had, thankfully, finally fallen asleep. Severus wondered briefly about the hiss, but assumed it was just a calming noise from Harry.

"Let'sss give you a quick wasssh while Oberon is asleep." Harry's quiet voice broke the silence. "I will be ssso glad when that tooth finally comes in."

Teething. That explained everything.

Harry was giving the potions master a bed bath twice a day. He seemed to be pleased by the way some of the Venomous Tentacula bites were healing, but was not as optimistic about the state of Severus' hands. His hair, greasy and limp on its best day, was obviously an issue to the meticulous Harry, but all that could be done was to cast cleansing charms on it while the bandages around his eyes remained.

Harry noted that the toxins had finally washed out of the other man's bladder and kidneys, and that his intestines were also clear of the poison. Severus heard Harry click his tongue in disappointment as he ran a spell over the semen.

"Not yet," he murmured and banished the fluid away. "Let me put the kettle on and we'll have a cuppa."

As Harry bustled about in the kitchen, which from the sound was located on the other side of the room, Severus thought he heard the hiss of first one snake and then the hiss of another.

"Harry," Severus called out. "Do you have a pet snake?"

"A what?"

"A pet snake. I keep hearing hissing."

"No, Ssseveruss. I do not have any pets. Do you want cream or lemon?"

~*~*~*  
"How long are you planning to keep him here, Ry?" Draco asked. "He's been missing nearly a week. Someone's bound to start searching for him soon."

"They are not ready yet."

"And what if they never are? Did you ever think of that?"

"You worry too much."

"And you don't worry enough."

~*~*~*  
"I am going to take the bandagesss off your eyesss. Do not open them unless I tell you to do ssso."

Harry sliced the gauze bandages covering both of Severus' eyes, and then carefully removed the potion-soaked gauze pads covering each eyelid. The skin pulled slightly as scabs were lifted along with the pads.

Severus kept his eyes closed as Harry gently washed away the potion residue. A cool potion-soaked pad was laid upon his right eye and bandages once again were wrapped around his head.

"Carefully open your left eye and let me see if the sssclera isss still inflamed."

Severus blinked against the bright daylight flooding the room. His eyelashes felt as if they were coated with something sticky, and his eye felt itchy.

"Look at me."

Severus opened his eye again. His vision was blurry, as if he were looking through a thick film. Harry placed several drops of a saline solution into the inflamed eye. The solution burned and tears rolled down his scabbed cheeks. The vision in his exposed eye cleared a little more as the tears and eye drops flushed the irritants from his lens.

"Are you able to focusss?" Harry asked as he leaned in close to examine Severus' eyeball.

Severus observed the younger wizard. Harry's nearly black wavy hair was caught in a thick braid hanging down his back and he had the greenest eyes Severus had ever seen. There was something oddly familiar about Harry's appearance, but he could not immediately place it.

Harry gave him a quizzical smile. "Isss something the matter?"

"No. I was just wondering about the other eye."

"It'sss looking much better, but there isss still a little weeping. We'll check again tomorrow." Harry clasped one of Severus' thickly bandaged hands in his own. "Your hands, I am afraid, are taking much longer to heal."

~*~*~*  
"You've got to let him go, Ry," Draco whispered. "He's not an idiot. He knows there is not enough toxin remaining in his body to warrant the binding."

"I can't. They're almost ready."

"This is past being dangerous. If they're not ready by tomorrow, maybe you need to try something else." 

~*~*~*  
Now that Severus had sight in one of his eyes, he was able to see his surroundings. His guess that Harry's cottage was not large was proven correct. He looked around the single room containing bedroom, kitchen and nursery all in one. Other than Oberon's cot, there was only the bed he was lying in. 

The walls were covered in a rough white plaster and cobblestones peeked out in the areas the plaster had fallen away from. While not a particularly huge expanse, it was comfortably decorated. Above his head were open rafters containing a few boards holding supplies. He could see the pitched interior of the roof was made of thatch. 

Looking out the open window, he saw a crumbling stone wall. Beyond the vine covered wall, ancient headstones of a long abandoned Muggle graveyard lay buried beneath years of untended wild flowers and weeds. And past the graveyard was the forest and the wild Venomous Tentacula bed. 

He was in the caretaker's cobblestone cottage, which had been spelled to appear a collapsed ruin. Wards had been so skillfully set that he had had no indication he was footsteps away from a magical dwelling.

No wonder he was still alive. No one else could have been near enough to save him.

~*~*~*  
Oberon determinedly crawled around the room, occasionally pulling himself up using available furniture to stand on wobbly legs, and frequently landing on his well-padded behind as a result. He dragged a blue and purple plush dragon with him.

"Da! Da! Da!"

Severus looked over the edge of the mattress to see inquisitive grey eyes peering up at him.

"Da?"

Harry scooped up the baby and kissed his belly, making Oberon shriek with delight. He settled the little boy on his hip. While Oberon and Harry shared the same wavy dark hair, Severus could definitely see Draco and Narcissa in the lines of the small face.

"How old is he?"

"Nearly ten months."

Severus did the math in his head and realized that Harry must have been three or four months pregnant the day Lord Voldemort flung him across the floor and into the wall. It was a wonder Harry hadn't lost the baby that day. 

~*~*~*  
Harry gently wiped the potions master's face, being careful around the eyes. The right eye was still covered, as Harry had removed a final two festering tentacula spines from the outer corner that morning. He spread a thick paste containing murtlap essence across the tip of Severus' prominent nose.

"Too tempting a target for the little bassstards," Harry quipped. "Ssshouldn't scar, though."

Harry soaped up a flannel and began to wash Severus' arms. Wanting to see how badly he had been bitten, the dark wizard watched the flannel slide across his forearm and then looked at Harry in shock.

"What happened to my Dark Mark?" The hideous skull and serpent mark of obedience was altered. The skull was missing and only the serpent remained. "Did the Venomous Tentacula venom cause that?"

"No," Harry smiled, coyly. "I put it to sssleep. Can't have Father tracking you to here."

"But..."

"I can remove it entirely, if you wisssh, or I can wake it up. It was formed using Parssseltongue. Your choissse when you leave." Harry's tone was matter-of-fact, causing Severus to realize the other man spoke the truth. Just how powerful was Harfang Gaunt?

Severus' mind went spinning into directions he had never thought possible before. Without the hated mark, he would be free of both of his overbearing masters. The possibilities were endless, but first he needed to get out of the bed. And Harry's refusal to release the bindings had long since passed a period of medical caution and threatened to veer into captivity.

He watched as Harry fisted his cock and tried to derive pleasure from the activity, but not having any control of the situation made the action feel invasive and vaguely immoral. As per his habit, Harry collected the spurting semen into a vial and cast a spell upon it, but this time he did not banish the contents.

"You do not need to continue expressing my semen, you know," Severus commented, trying to keep the irritation from his voice. "If you would just release the binding, I could handle the task myself and spare the both of us the embarrassment."

"I am not embarrassed, and you should not be either. It is a medical procedure, not a sssexual conquessst." Harry slipped the vial into his robes. "In cassse you haven't noticed, your handsss are still infected."

"I am healthy enough to leave now, and you know it. Is there any particular reason you are holding me hostage?"

"Hostage? I have not imprissoned you. I have healed you," Harry called over his shoulder as he walked away. "I have not replaced the bindings today. You can climb out of my bed and walk away anytime you desssire."

Severus watched as Harry lifted a sleeping Oberon out of his cot and stalked out the door into the sunlight. Alone in the small cottage, he began to test the limitations of his body.

~*~*~*  
Severus seethed in frustration as he lay in a mass of splayed limbs on the bare oak floor. His weakened and uncooperative body could not support his weight, and he was unable to pull himself back into the bed. Harry had not returned and Severus stubbornly refused to call out to him for assistance. He had tried calling for Tink, but the reclusive house-elf did not appear.

There was a cold breeze rolling across the bare floor and Severus shivered. It was summer and he should not be feeling as chilled as he was. He reached for the coverlet on the bed to wrap himself in.

"You are an idiot, Professor Snape," Draco's drawling voice called out. "Ry isn't vindictive enough toward you to leave you in distress. He's nothing like his father."

"I don't need a lecture, Mr. Malfoy," Severus spat. "Help me up."

"That really isn't possible, I am afraid." An icy finger momentarily rested on the back of Severus' neck, and the dark man shuddered.

Severus looked up and looked through Draco. He could see the room beyond the young man's semi-transparent form floating a hair's breadth above the floor.

"Fuck," Severus muttered under his breath.

"My sentiments exactly," replied the ghost of Draco Malfoy. "Do you see now why I couldn't inform my mother of my survival?"

"You didn't pass on."

"No. I can't leave Ry and Oberon alone. They need protection and Mother isn't always enough."

"Narcissa is a formidable witch. No one duels like a Black. I wouldn't underestimate her."

"I don't mean my mother. I mean Harfang's mother."

"Harfang's mother?"

"She's right behind you."

Severus turned and found himself face to snout with Nagini, the Dark Lord's familiar. In shock at her close proximity, he jerked backward and lost his precarious balance, cracking the back of his skull on the floor.

"That didn't go so well," Draco commented. 

Nagini undulated across the floor, wriggled her coils beneath the insensible potions master and pushed him up back into bed. 

Foolish human, she thought as she slithered out the door to look for Harry.

~*~*~*  
"I found your wand," Harry stated as he set the rod on top of Severus' neatly folded clothing on the other side of the room. "It was at the edge of the tentacula nest, but does not appear to be damaged."

"Thank you," Severus replied. "I was afraid it might have been snapped." 

He really wanted to hold his wand, but knew Harry would have to be a fool to give such a weapon back to him. Even though Harry said he wasn't a prisoner, no effort had been made to send him away. Perhaps it was just paranoia, but Tink could have easily delivered him anywhere once he became stable.

It was still a bit unnerving to watch Draco float around the room, but it wasn't as unsettling a watching a napping Oberon curled up in Nagini's coils.

"You lied to me, Harry. You told me you didn't have a snake."

"No. I told you I didn't have a pet. Nagini is many things, mossst of all my mother, but ssshe has never been my pet."

"She's the Dark Lord's familiar. How can she defy him?"

Nagini hissed harshly. Severus had always suspected that, while she could not speak it, the serpent understood English.

"Nagini says that Master ceased being Master when he tried to kill her nestling, killed her nesting'sss mate, and tried to destroy her nestling'sss egg." Harry looked at the snake in undisguised affection. "Ssshe did not give birth to me, but ssshe is the only mother I have ever known."

~*~*~*  
"How is my mother?" Draco's ghost asked Severus as Harry rocked Oberon to sleep later that evening.

"She mourns for you. I think if she'd had a body to bury, it would have given her closure. Were you a meal for Nagini as your father suspected, or did Harry bury you out in that graveyard?"

"I did not want to lie with the Muggles, and, anyway, someone might have noticed a freshly dug grave in an abandoned graveyard and notified Muggle Aurors. My body is in the rafters above your head."

Severus looked up, but saw nothing but the boards lying across the rafters.

"I pressserved him. Draco wants to go home, but I can not risssk it." Harry carefully set the slumbering Oberon into his cot, stepping over Nagini's tail. She was curled up on the carpet beside it.

"I could take his body to his mother when I leave," Severus offered.

"And then my father will inform the Dark Lord. I died under torture, and I do not wish that death upon you."

"I would not be so sure of that, Draco. Witnessing your only child's murder leaves a mark." Severus shifted his position, feeling a little more strength in his arms. "And at any rate, your mother has left your father. She has taken over the stewardship for the Ancient and Noble House of Black and now resides in Black's London townhouse. The wards on that house are so strong that no one can enter without express permission. I think she would be pleased to know she has a grandson and that part of her beloved Draco survives through him."

Draco floated over to Harry, his ghostly fingers petting his former lover's cheek. He liked "haunting" Harry and, as much as he wanted to go to his mother, he did not want to take the chance he could not return to Harry and Oberon if his body no longer shared their space.

Ultimately, it was all up to Harry. He could listen to Draco's counsel, he could listen to Nagini, he could even listen to Severus, but he was the only one able to make the decision.

~*~*~*  
Severus pretended to be asleep as Harry climbed into the left side of the bed. Nagini's cool body joined them to his right, the heavy weight of her tail lying across his ankles, effectively trapping him. Harry turned, and laid his head on Severus chest, one of his hands lightly tracing patterns on Severus' lower abdomen. 

Severus opened his eyes and watched as Harry gently teased his testicles, causing him to harden. Harry had always been so clinical before, so his tender foreplay was unexpected.

"What are you doing?" Severus whispered.

"Ssshh." Harry placed a finger across Severus' lips. 

Harry let out a soft groan as he slowly lowered himself onto Severus' erection. He had already stretched and prepared himself. In the moonlight, Severus could see Harry's naked body arch as he rode him. Severus rested his bandaged hands on the younger man's hips to help steady him. They did not exchange words and they did not exchange kisses as Harry rode him to completion.

~*~*~*  
When Severus awoke the next morning, he found himself, fully dressed, lying beside a vine-covered crumbling stone wall in a long-abandoned Muggle graveyard buried beneath years of untended wild flowers and weeds. In the distance, he could see the derelict remains of a cobblestone cottage, the rotted thatched roof long since collapsed into the middle of it.

He stood up and noticed a leather bag filled with Venomous Tentacula seed pods and a covered basket containing several immature tentacula plants at his feet. His wand rested on the lid of a potions case containing sheets of oiled parchment and the harvested leaves of the mother plant and her offspring. 

Cautiously, he pushed up the sleeve of his robe, exposing his forearm. There was no skull. There was no serpent. He looked toward the crumbling cottage, bid a silent farewell to the residents of the viper's nest, and bowed deeply before Disapparating away with his precious Venomous Tentacula specimens.

He had a future to plan.

~*~*~*  
"You do realize you've committed line theft, don't you?" Draco's ghost asked conversationally as he and Harry watched Severus disappear from the graveyard.

"I think it wasss a fair trade," Harry replied. 

Behind them, Tink was quickly packing the belongings of the small cottage into a series of trunks and an elderly house elf lowered Draco's shrouded corpse from the rafters. They both gave Nagini a wide berth.

Harry swept a giggling baby and a blue and purple plush dragon into his arms. 

Oberon had a grandmother to meet.

**Author's Note:**

> Diffindo - a severing charm.
> 
> Oberon - the king of the fairies and the second largest moon of Uranus.
> 
> Harfang (här´făng): n. The snowy owl. _Nyctea nivea_ or _N. scandiaca_ : so called from its habit of preying upon hares.
> 
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